As Yours
by Kitsuru
Summary: -NaruHina- Some things are meant to be. Others just need a little push in the right direction. A collection of NaruHina ficlets. Chapter Four: Twenty firsts in Naruto and Hinata's relationship. -WIP-
1. As People

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, everyone's favorite oblivious blonde would have put two and two together about Hinata's tendancy to follow him around but faint when he talked to her _ages_ ago, and gotten something other than three, five, or instant ramen.

Speaking of ages, that's how long I've been planning this: a NaruHina ficlet collection! –Lights fireworks fuses-

Sasuke: You _do_ realize that you're standing right next to those, right?

So? What's your point?

Sasuke: … -turns around and leaves the room-

I wonder what's up with him?

-The fireworks go off, and a certain lacking-in-common-sense author goes flying-

I FEEL LIKE TEAM ROCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!

* * *

He was there again. 

**He was walking down the street.**

She quickly ducked behind the building, hoping against hope that he hadn't heard her. After a moment, when she didn't hear him yelling at her to go away, she calmed herself enough to peek out from her hiding place.

**It was crowded, but, as always, they avoided him. People stepped back, pushed others aside, even broke and ran in their urgency to stay far, far away from him. In a street full of people, he walked alone.**

A kunai embedded itself in the bark of the tree, where several others already resided. The metal gleamed dully in the light of the evening sun, and she noted that the usually edges had been worn down to the point where it must have taken considerable force to bury it deep enough in the wood to keep from falling out.

**They stared at him from what they judged to be a safe distance. He heard their dark whispers, their scornful mutters, and their hushed, angry words. The worst, though, were those that ignored him completely other than to stay away from his, who refused to acknowledge that he so much as _existed_.**

Two more kunai found themselves stuck in the tree. The third hit the one of the already-thrown blades and bounced off of it with a clang, falling to the ground a few feet away. For a moment, he swayed unsteadily, staring down at the blade. She couldn't see his face, but she doubted that the trembling of his shoulders was due entirely to exhaustion. Nobody _that_ exhausted could still be standing.

**He had long since stopped asking himself why they treated him this way. It wasn't like there was a way for him to stop them from doing it. Them hating him was just another fact of life, like ramen taking three minutes to cook and the Hokages being heroes.**

A few moments later, the boy's legs gave out and he fell.

**Nobody hated the Hokage. The Hokage was the guiding light through Konoha's darkest times, its mortal guardian god during the harshest battles, and was willing to do **_**anything**_** for the village because they **_**loved**_** it. **

She gasped, almost stepping from her hiding place. The ground around the much-abused tree was strewn with deflected and badly-aimed kunai. However dull their points were, it was still far too likely that he might have gotten hurt. He might—

**And the village loved **_**them**_

He struggled to his feet, his shoulders once more shaking, this time not so much with trembling as with labored breaths. He stood there, still swaying unsteadily, his fists clenched in determination.

**One could almost _hear_ a click as an idea came into being in the boys mind. He stopped, hardly daring to believe that such a thing could even be possible, that something like _that_ could happen to someone like _him_.**

She wondered why he always acted the way he did. Why he defied _them_, why he never backed down when arguing with _them_, why her refused to accept what _they_ told and be done with it. And why, even when they pushed him to the ground and kicked him and spat at him and were about to walk away, he got right back up and grinned through swollen lips and black eyes, and dared them to just _try_ and do it again, because the next time _he'd_ be the one who pushed _them_ to the ground.

**Someone like him…**

_They_ told her that she was weak, and she had fixed her eyes to the ground and nodded her silent agreement with their words, because that was what she did. She could _never_ argue with them, because they were _strong_ and would go on to do great things, while she was _weak_ and would fade quietly into the shadows of the background if she was lucky. But he…

**What right did **_**they**_** have to dictate who **_**he**_** was, anyway? **_**They**_** weren't him, **_**he**_** was. **_**They**_** didn't know how he felt, **_**he**_** did. And they **_**definitely**_** didn't know who he was, because they'd never bothered to see beyond whatever it was that they hated so much, to his **_**true**_** self!**

… _He_ never faded.

**"I'm going to…" If they refused to acknowledge him as a person like anyone else, or even as a person at all, then he'd just have to become the _one_ person who they'd _have_ to acknowledge, the _one_ person who they could _never_ hate. And he could—no, he _would_ do it! "…Receive the title of Hokage, datteybayo!"**

They would have let him, even made him if they could have, but he never took the chance she had once longed for. Instead, he forced himself up from the shadows, forced himself to shine brightly, bright enough to make them stop ignoring him, if only to shade their eyes to keep from being blinded.

**The street was silent, for a moment, as everyone turned to stare at him. Incredulousness, derision, anger… but for once in his life, no one ignored him. And that was more than he could ever have hoped for. "You all just watch!"**

Uzumaki Naruto clenched his fists, and, with hands trembling with the strain of over-use, withdrew another kunai from his pouch and threw it. It hit the tree and embedded itself nearly two inches into the wood.

**He cried with joy as he ran off, because he knew that they would. And even if they didn't at first, when he became Hokage, they'd have to.**

Hinata, for the first time in her life, began to wonder if, since _they_ were so very, _very_ wrong about the boy in front of her, they could be wrong about her as well.

**He'd make sure of it, datteybayo!**

* * *

-is slightly singed- Thank goodness for gravity, ne? 

I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the next chapter up. My first priority is Baby Boom, not to mention I'll be out of commission for tomorrow at least. I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled, and even I know my writing while I'm drugged might not be the best idea for the sanity of anyone concerned.

I'll try to keep this on a somewhat linear timeline, but there may be a chapter here and there that's out of order (i.e.: A chapter about when they were children after one about them getting married). I'll post in the authors note if that's the case, though

As always, reviews are apprieciated. Especially if they contain constructive criticism, or requests for future chapters!


	2. As Romantics

Disclaimer: If I owned _anything,_ would I be writing this?

So much for keeping to a linear timeline… I go right from their Academy years to them dating. Sorry about that.

Remember, I'm taking requests.

The plot bunnies were running away from me for some reason. I'm telling you, those things are evil! EVIL I SAY!!

Yeah, I think that I've gone temporarily insane due to the return of school… and, more importantly, homework. –shudders-

* * *

"So…" Kiba cracked his knuckles, baring his uncomfortably pointy eyeteeth in a feral grimace. Despite having beaten the other boy at the Chuunin Exams several years ago, Naruto couldn't help but shudder at the unadulterated killing intent he radiated. "… You think that you're good enough for _our_ Hinata, do you?" 

"Wait, nani?" The blonde asked, his determination dissipating to make way for confusion.

"Don't play the fool." Shino said, just loudly enough to be heard over the angry buzzing emanating from beneath his coat. "We _know_ that you asked her out yesterday."

"Well, yeah." Naruto affirmed, still unsure about what was going on. "What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that?" Neji echoed softly, dangerously. The ramen-loving boy yelped as the Hyuuga seized the front of his jacket and started shaking him furiously. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?! _**EVERYTHING,**__ THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT!" _

Okay, forget not showing fear. Naruto had his hands full just trying not to wet his pants at that point.

"My sister's _fragile_, bakamono!" Hanabi growled from behind her cousin. If anyone was scarier than Neji, it would have to be her. She was the most terrifying little kid that he had ever met—and, seeing as he had once managed to get Udon drunk, that was saying something. "If you don't treat her right, you'll break her heart!"

"And if that happens…" Hiashi began, eying Naruto as one might a bug to be squashed. He whimpered, wondering how the gentle Hinata could _possibly_ be related to such frightening people. "…We'll break _you."_

"Do we make ourselves clear?" Kurenai asked in a deceptively sweet tone, smiling cheerfully at the blonde. He cowered, somehow finding the former academy instructor the most horrifying one of all. At his silence, her gentle façade hardened into a murderous scowl. "I _said_, do we make ourselves clear?"

"Y-y-y-yes m-m-m-m-ma'a-a-a-a-am!" Naruto stammered, sounding very much like the girl that was the reason that they were all there. "C-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-cryst-t-t-t-t-t-tal!"

"Good!" She said, her eyes curving and her grin widening. She beamed at him in a manner reminiscent of a certain feline. "Well, if that's everything, I hope that you and Hinata have fun on your date tonight!" Neji, Hiashi, and Kiba visibly twitched at the word 'date.' That was a bad sign, but Kurenai ignored it. "By the way, where are you taking her?"

"A-a-a-ano…" He began, still stuck in his fear-inspired 'Hinata mode.' "I-I-I th-thought th-th-that I-I c-c-c-c-could t-t-take h-her t-t-to I-Ichirak-ku's…"

"I'm afraid that I _must_ have misheard you." Neji interrupted, his voice dangerously quiet. That was a bad sign, a very, _very, VERY_ bad sign. "I could have sworn that I heard you say that you were taking the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan to a _ramen stand."_

"D-d-d-did I-I-I s-say th-that?" The blonde stuttered hurriedly, and gave a nervous laugh. He was too panicked to even recognize the slight to his favorite restaurant. "I-I-I m-meant t-t-to a…a p-picnic! Y-yeah, a p-p-picnic! O-on t-t-t-top o-of th-the Ho-Hok-kage m-m-monum-ment!"

"Really?" Shino murmered, adjusting his sunglasses. In the back of his mind, Naruto wondered how he could see with them on in the dark room. "How… _cheap."_

"It's still better than a ramen stand." Hanabi pointed out reluctantly. "Kind of romantic, even."

"It'd _better_ be." The Inuzuka snarled. "For _his_ sake."

"Very true." Neji agreed, glaring at Naruto. He shrank back, cursing the _way_ too tight ropes that they had tied him to the chair with.

"Remember, Naruto: mess this up…" Kiba warned, cracking his knuckles in an all-too gleeful manner. "… And we mess _you_ up."

"Just because you are not creative enough to come up with your own threats, Inuzuka, does not give you the excuse to steal mine." Hiashi grumbled under his breath, only to be ignored.

"It had better be a good picnic." Hanabi informed Naruto in a cold voice, ignoring her father. "If I see even _one_ cup of instant ramen, you'll regret it."

"Hey, wait a moment!" He yelped. "Are you going to be spying on us or something?"

"Of course." Shino replied, raising an eyebrow above his sunglasses. "Team Eight specializes in reconnaissance, after all."

"But…" The blonde struggled to put his shock into words. "But that's not…"

"Shino's just joking, Naruto." Kurenai assured him, shooting the Aburame a pointed look. "Don't worry about it. Just make sure that Hinata has fun, ne?"

"But not _too_ much fun." Kiba added quickly. "She'd better come back a vir—"

He was cut off when Neji's kunai suddenly ended up against his neck. Hanabi glared at him. "_Don't_ give him any ideas, bakamono!"

Kiba nodded as frantically as he could without moving his neck. He sighed in relief when the blade was withdrawn, and went back to watching his jonin-sensei interrogate their victim.

"So, what time are you picking her up at?" Kurenai was asking. Naruto frowned thoughtfully.

"Seven-thirty." He answered. "Why?"

"It's seven-twenty-three right now."

"_Nani?!"_ The blonde cried, his jaw dropping. "I'm going to be _late_!"

"You'd _better_ not be." Neji muttered, his eyes flashing. "For _your_ sake."

"_THEN_ _UNTIE ME ALREADY SO I CAN __**GO!"**_

"Do we have to?" Hanabi asked plaintively, glaring down her nose at Naruto.

"Unfortunately." Her cousin replied, cutting the ropes. Their former captive gave an exaggerated sigh of relief, rubbing at where the bindings had been tightest.

"About time!" He shouted. "Those ropes were cutting off my circulation, you know!"

Hiashi would have snorted derisively, but he was a Hyuuga and Hyuuga's didn't snort, be it in derision or anything else. Instead, he listened to the Inuzuka snort. In his opinion, if the brat couldn't handle a bit of restricted blood flow, then there was no way that he could handle Hinata. "A _true_ shinobi could have gotten out of those on his own."

"I _could_, dattebayo!" Naruto protested. "I just didn't!"

"And why not?" Shino queried.

"I just didn't feel like it!" He yelled defensively. "You're just lucky that I'm in a hurry, or I'd teach you jerks a lesson you'd never forget!"

Hanabi scoffed, Neji 'Hn'ed, Kiba gave a bark of laughter, Shino didn't say anything, and Hiashi glared venomously at him. Kurenai just checked her watch again.

"Well, would you look at that." She commented, her tone that of one who has just found a wonderful, yet unexpected, present on their doorstep. "It's already seven-twenty-eight."

"_NANI?!"_ The blonde screeched again. He bolted, scrambling in the darkness to throw open the door, before shooting the group one last glare. "If I'm late, it's all _your_ fault!"

"No, it's _yours."_ Neji told him. "And we'll make sure that you are… suitably punished for it."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"Well…" The Jonin began, cleaning his kunai in an uncomfortably showy way. "…let's just say that you wouldn't have to worry about being late for a date ever again… or dating at all."

Naruto was torn between trying to beat Neji into the ground or freaking out at the threat, which was all-too likely to end up coming to pass. After a moment, he decided on the first option. If he did the second, he'd have to dwell on what the Hyuuga had implied, and that's not something that _any_ guy wanted to dwell on. _Ever._

"Seven-twenty-nine."

"_AAAA__**AAAA**__**AAAH!!"**_ Naruto ran off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake, and shouting: "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

Once again, Kiba and Neji twitched at the word 'date.' Hiashi muttered something about a lack of creativity and a tendency to steal words being contagious among idiots, before turning to frown at Kurenai. "Were you serious about not spying on them?"

"Heck no." She replied, raising an eyebrow and favoring him with a 'have-you-lost-your-mind' look. "What gave you that idea?"

"So, if he goes too far, then we get to kill him, ne?" Hanabi asked eagerly, before her father could answer. Kurenai nodded, and she squealed gleefully.

"But what if he doesn't?" Shino suddenly wondered, eying his accomplices through the tinted lenses of his sunglasses.

"Then we kill him for not going far enough." Neji answered, a maniac gleam in his eyes.

"No killing." Kurenai told them sternly. The group groaned in unison, looking very much like a group of children who had just been told that that years Christmas/Hanukah/insert-appropriate-holiday-here had been canceled. And next years' too. Maybe even the year afters. "Maiming, however, is allowed."

Cue the cheering and sadistic giggling. Trust me when I say that you don't want to know who was doing what.

"When can we start following him?" Hiashi asked, tapping his foot impatiently. The jonin-sensei leaned out the door, watching Naruto run thoughtfully.

"We can start in about… thirty seconds." She announced after a moment. "Right after he turns that corner—"

"Kurenai-sensei?" Shino interrupted.

"What is it?" She asked, still watching the retreating dust cloud.

"You do realize that they've already left, ne?"

* * *

"Na-Naruto-k-kun… i-it's b-b-beautiful…" 

The light of the setting sun fell across Konoha, veiling everything in shades of red and yellows not unlike those of flames. The sky was streaked in a myriad of colors, from the dark indigos and violets of the night sky behind them to the pinks and oranges of the sunset before them. Naruto gave a soft smile.

"It is, isn't it?" He agreed, turning to face his companion. The sunset painted her pale eyes in it's colors, and her dark blue hair seemed to have acquired a fiery sheen. "It's the second most beautiful sight in the world, I think."

"W-w-what's th-the f-first?" Hinata asked him, turning to look at him curiously.

"You." The light hid the resulting blush, which Naruto thought made her look even cuter than before.

Silently, he thanked Jiraiya for teaching him corny, but effective, lines like that one. Not that he didn't mean it, or anything like that, but if Jiraiya hadn't told him what a woman liked hearing—of which only his pick-up lines were _completely_ worthless—he'd have probably started talking about ramen.

And becoming Hokage.

And more ramen.

But when Hinata leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder with a slight sigh, Naruto found that he didn't even feel like talking anymore. He nestled his head against her soft, dark hair, and at that moment was content to simply stay there with her, bathed in the faint scent of lilacs and the warmth of a glow that had nothing to do with the setting sun.

* * *

That night, Sakura wasn't surprised when Neji shoved an unconscious and badly beaten Naruto into her arms while she was working at the hospital. She merely looked at the blonde, and then at the Hyuuga, before giving a long-suffering sigh. 

"Oh, for Pete's sake…" The medic-nin muttered. "This is the third time this week!"

* * *

Meh. I'm not really sure about this one. What did you think about it? -pokes the review button- 


	3. As Romantics, Part Two

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto or The Crucible, do you think that I'd be able to get away with being so late? Not that I'll get away with it anyways, but…

Sasuke eyed the disclaimer, frowning. "What does The Crucible have to do with anything?"

"She borrowed a line from it." Shikamaru replied. "You know, the one about the 'pointy reckoning?' She said something about it being too troublesome to think up something better."

"That sounds like her." The Uchiha nodded, and then looked around. "So she's actually sticking to this 'no more script format for the authors notes' thing?"

"Troublesomely enough, yes."

* * *

"I-I had a g-g-great t-time t-t-t-tonight…"

"Yeah, me too."

For a moment, the couple smiled nervously at each other. Hinata looked away first, blushing and fixing her gaze on her constantly shifting feet. Naruto's face held a pink tinge as well, and for once the blonde was silent.

_WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?!_

Well, he was silent _outwardly_, at least.

It wasn't really that he was nervousabout going out with the timid Hyuuga heiress. Sure, it had been a little awkward at first—what with her fainting on an average of every other minute—but he was getting better at not freaking her out, and she was getting better at staying conscious. They were already down to a mere two episodes a date!

The problem was that he was utterly _terrified, _a sentiment that was not helped by the way that Kiba kept on making certain threatening gestures whenever he noticed Naruto looking in his direction. Or how he kept on hearing a very low buzzing coming from behind him whenever he was about to so much as hold his girlfriends' hand. Not to mention the fact that he could feel pure, unadulterated killing intent assaulting him from every direction.

Worst of all was that he couldn't see anyone other than the Inuzuka and his dog. That meant that either his tormenters were in a particularly sadistic mood or that Kurenai was with them. With his luck, it was probably both.

On the other hand, at least Neji wasn't there for once. Tenten had finally gotten sick of waiting for the so-called prodigy to realize that, in Ino's words 'he liked her, she liked him, and they had so much in common that they really should have hooked up ages ago.' Half of Konohagakure had watched in undisguised amusement as the weapons mistress literally _dragged_ the struggling Hyuuga off to a nightclub, while the other half was busily paying up or cashing in on past bets.

Tsunade was later seen getting drunk out of her mind off her winnings, but still not drunk enough to let Jiraiya get away with hitting on her. At least, not without pounding him a total of seventeen and a half feet into the ground first. Of course, he promptly took advantage of his low position to try and look up the Hokage's skirt.

_Try_ being the key word.

Although to be fair, his attempt would have probably worked on any other day. However, Tsunade was much drunker than usual on this one. That, plus a lack of any suitable facilities in the immediate area, conspired in the Godaime throwing up on her hapless teammate. On the bright side, Jiraiya did get to see up her shirt for about three seconds—"three seconds of heaven" according to him.

But, back to everyone's favorite jinchuuriki… he was just relieved that Neji wasn't there. Without him, the bloodlust was only about half as bad as it could have been.

_Give me a break… _Naruto groaned mentally as the aforementioned killing intent tripled. It hadn't even taken a half a minute for a certain universal rule to kick in.

He didn't reveal his displeasure out loud, because the last time that he had done so Hiashi had seized upon the opportunity to drag him off to the local insane asylum, which was incidentally very, very far away from the Hyuuga manor and its timid heiress._ Note to self: Kill Murphy for being such a law-loving sadist._

"Na-Naruto-k-k-kun?" There was something akin to terror in Hinata's voice, something that froze his blood and multiplied the already-great killing intent tenfold. The blonde winced at the sight of her face, or to be specific, at the 'oh-no-I-did-something-wrong-and-now-he'll-never-forgive-me-and-he'll-dump-me-and-it'll-be-all-my-fault-and-he'll-hate-me-for-being-so-weak-and-please-please-PLEASE-don't-hate-me-Naruto-kun' expression that he was getting to be _way_ too familiar with.

He loved Hinata. He really, truly did. He just hated her precious people, especially when they would have jumped at the chance to kill him for something that was _all their fault_—okay, so it was really just Hiashi, Hanabi, and Neji's fault—and tended to beat him up not only after every one of his dates with her, but every time they caught him being 'disloyal.'

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"_GET BACK HERE! I'll kill you for cheating on Hinata-sama! I'll—HEY, I SAID _GET BACK HERE!"

"_Huh…" Sai blinked, watching his terrified teammate run for his life. He turned to face the ramen chef. "Does the Heimlich maneuver usually have this affect on people?"_

_The old man sweatdropped. "I don't even want to know who taught you CPR."_

He didn't know what was worse about that day; Neji breaking twenty-seven of his bones or Sai… He held back a shudder. Even _thinking_ about it made him feel like he was going to break out in hives.

"YOU!!"

The blonde screamed like a little girl, jumping into Hinata's arms and hugging her in complete and utter terror. It took a full sixty seconds for her to realize who the warm weight in her arms was. After that, it took thirty more seconds for her brain to digest the fact that he was hugging her as though his life depended on it. At that point, Naruto would have wondered why she was drooling and twitching spasmodically, but at the moment he was too preoccupied with being terrified out of his wits.

It was then that Tenten stomped into view with Neji, and Hinata's eyes met with a sight that broke her brain even more. The prodigy of the Hyuuga's branch family was… blushing? And grinning like a happy drunk?

"…Of telling anyone about this, I'll make you pay." Tenten was saying—or rather, snarling—as they approached the other couple. "If you breathe a word—or even the edge of a word—I'll come in some dark night and bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you!"

"But I don'—hic!—wanna poin'y reck—hic!—oning!" The Jonin slurred, his head bobbing foolishly as he hugged the scowling weapons mistress. "Hic! I jush wanna—hic!—cuddle shummore… Hic! Lesh jush—hic!—cuddle shummore—hic!—'kay Tenny-chan?"

Even Naruto, who considered himself very good at accepting the impossible—after all, not only could he eat seventy-eight bowls of ramen in one sitting. Oh, and there was the fact that he had a giant fox sealed in his stomach, too—felt his brain fracture as it realized that Neji wasn't just grinning like a happy drunk.

He _was_ a happy drunk. "Holy f—"

"FIRE TRUCK!" The Hyuuga suddenly cried. He started running around in circles, his arms outstretched as though trying to fly. "Hic! WEEEOOOWEEEOOOWEE—hic!"

"I give up." His teammate threw her arms up in disgust. "Tell him to call me when he's sober, would you?"

"H-hai." Hinata's mind had recovered enough at that point that not only was she no longer drooling—much—but she was also able to nod and stammer an assent to her friends' request.

Neji stopped running in circles in order to scramble in a drunken version of a straight line towards the departing girl. He stumbled and ended up clutching her pant leg. "But Tenny-hic!—wenny-channy—hic!—wanny, you shaid—"

"I SAID NOTHING!" The kunoichi roared. While her boyfriend cowered—even a blood alcohol content of 0.25 could completely eradicate his survival instinct—of she turned towards Naruto and Hinata with fiery eyes. _"NOTHING!"_

"H-h-hai!" The blonde stammered, sounding remarkably like the girl who was _still_ holding him. After he was out of her sight, he was in for a serious beating from her friends and family.

Satisfied on that point, Tenten pulled her leg free and stalked off. She pointedly ignored the drunken cries for 'Tenny-chan' to return to her 'fire truck' and cuddle 'shummore.'

"…I think I'm scarred for life." Naruto whimpered after she was gone.

"Naru'o?" Neji, who was still on the ground, rolled over and stared at the younger boy as though he had only just realized that he was there. "When did you—hic!—get 'ere?"

"Um…" The blonde thought fast. "…I'm not?"

"Wow, really?" The Hyuuga sounded impressed as he struggled to get to his feet. "But I—hic!—thought tha' you—hic!—shucked at gen—hic!—jushu."

"Er…" His brain was going to break again if he kept using it like this, he was sure of it. "…it's a mystery?"

"A mysh—hic!—erry?" Neji asked, cocking his head in confusion. "Like the mean—hic!—ing of life?"

"Um…" Naruto blinked. "I guess so…"

"N-N-Naruto-k-kun…" Hinata's arms were getting sore, despite how much she was starting to enjoy holding her crush. "Ano… c-could you… if y-you d-don't m-m-mind…"

Naruto yelped as he realized where he was, and more importantly, what several certain someone's were going to do to him because of it. He practically flew out of the dark-haired girls' grip.

"Hic! Hinata-shama! Hi—hic!—ya!" Neji giggled, as though only just noticing his cousins' presence. "Hiya! Hic! Hic! Hi-ya! Look, I'm—hic!—using taijushu! I'm—hic!—Gai-shunshei! Hic! Hic! I'm Lee! Hic! HI-_YA!"_

"Can he use the Drunken Fist too?" The blonde asked in a terrified whisper as they watched the so-called genius try to punch a tree and miss.

"I-I don't _th-think_ so…" Hinata whispered back, but she sounded doubtful.

After Neji's twenty-third failed attempt at fighting the flora, he fell to the ground giggling and hiccupping. It was then that he happened to look up, into the foliage of the victorious tree, and see…

"DADDY!"

He lurched to his feet and hugged the plant, sobbing. It took only a few seconds before it transformed into a very familiar, very disgruntled Head of the Hyuuga Clan.

"F-father?" Hinata gaped at him.

Naruto let out a shrill scream, not unlike the one he had uttered when Neji had first arrived, and dove for cover behind his girlfriend. She stared at Hiashi for a moment longer before turning to look down at the blonde, who was curled up, shivering, in a fetal position. After watching that for nearly a moment, she looked back at her father, who was trying—and failing miserably—to peel his hysterically sobbing nephew off of him.

Hinata alternated staring at them for several more minutes, until it clicked in her still-cracked mind that two plus two equaled four. She activated her Byakugan, and Kiba paled at the Glare of Agonizingly Painful DOOM ™ that was leveled at him when she found his hiding spot. Everyone else had fled when Neji started assaulting the camoflagued Hiashi, even Akamaru and Shino's insects.

The Inuzuka forced a 'please-don't-kill-me' smile to his face, and waved. Without a word, the dark-haired girl deactivated her Byakugan, grabbed the whimpering Naruto by the back of his jacket, and dragged him off.

Kiba watched them go. He had a bad feeling about this…

* * *

"What. Did. You. Say?"

"You heard me." Tsunade met Hiashi's glare with one of her own. Judging from the number of empty bottles on and around her desk, the Hokages' bad mood was due to the same affliction that had Neji Jyuukening anyone who so much as _breathed_ within a fifty-yard radius of his room into a silent but undoubtedly painful oblivion. "I said that they're gone."

"Gone where, may I ask?" The Head of the Hyuuga Clan growled.

"The Land of Waves." She told him. "On an escort mission. And keep it down."

The man opened his mouth to say something, closed it for a moment after he remembered the time he had watched the Godaime help out with the destruction of a condemned building, and continued in a much quieter tone of voice. "When will they be back?"

"Not for at least two weeks."

"TWO WEEKS?!" Tsunade winced and glared at Hiashi. "But the Land of Waves is only a few days away!"

A malicious gleam entered the sannins' eyes as she realized what would happen when she explained the delay. Even if it did make her hangover worse, it would be worth it. Oh, would it ever be worth it…

"They said something about needing extra time for the honeymoon."

* * *

"You may now kiss the bride." Tazuna declared, grabbing a handkerchief from his daughter and blowing his nose loudly. Amidst the cheering throng of natives, Naruto frowned.

"Did you hear that?" The blonde asked his wife of two seconds. "It sounded like someone screaming."

"No," Hinata replied, yanking on his tie to bring the groom down to eye level. "Now shut up and kiss me!"

* * *

"That was…"

"Brain-breakage." Shikamaru interrupted firmly. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"So, do we tell them to review or not?" He asked.

"It's too troublesome to do it twice." The Nara declared. "So no, we don't."

* * *

**OMAKE:**

"YOU GOT MY SISTER PREGNANT!"

"I'M SORRY!" Naruto wailed. "DON'T HURT ME!"

"I WON'T!" She roared. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Hanabi had a surprisingly loud voice for someone so short. In fact, it was loud enough that, on the other side of Konoha, Tenten looked up from the gigantic sword that she had been polishing (she wanted her weapons to stay nice and shiny and pretty, thank you very much.) "Ne, Neji?"

"Hn?" There was something odd about his voice.

"…Never mind." Tenten knew from experience that when Neji was _visibly_ smiling like that, it was better that she _didn't_ know.


	4. As Beginners

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then these would have happened in the anime.

"We did this last chapter!" Sasuke whined. He glared at the readers. "So go and read Kitsuru's pathetic attempt at the twenty-truth's format!"

"This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered with a sigh as the aforementioned author stormed into the room, ready to make a certain muse eat his words—or at least something other than tomatoes for once.

* * *

1. When he first notices her following him, he's too confused about why she fainted when he asked her what she was doing to pursue the topic. Also, there was the fact that Kiba, who had seen everything and assumed that Naruto had done something to his teammate, was chasing him. 

2. He first remarks about what happened later that day, while training with his teammates. Sakura takes the phase 'knock some sense into him' too literally, Sasuke wonders out loud how the blonde even passed the Academy, and Kakashi would have explained what had happened through the use of several 'educational' excerpts from his favorite literature if not for the fact that his pink-haired student had uprooted a nice-sized tree and started bashing Naruto over the head with it.

Repeatedly.

And people wondered what was killing the blonde's brain cells…

3. When he first sees the way her cousin treats her, he wants more than anything else to go down there and show the older genin just how wrong he is. But he can't, because this is her fight and her turn, and there's a deceptively gentle hand on his shoulder—at any other time, he'd have been overjoyed to have Sakura touching him, but for some reason all he could feel was annoyance at the restraint—holding him back.

All he can do is watch her prove Neji wrong, all on her own.

She stands there with her white eyes so full of pain and he can't stand to see her hurting from those words that cut too close, and he can't just stand there and watch someone else—someone kind enough to offer to let him cheat off of her paper, someone caring enough give him bruise ointment after he defeated her teammate, someone too unsure of herself to see her own strength—suffer in that same pit of loneliness that he had, once.

He can't fight for her, and he knows that he shouldn't want to. But that doesn't mean that he can't give her a little wake-up call.

4. She looks up at him, shocked and startled at his shout, so surprised that her shyness is forgotten and she meets his gaze for the first time. After a moment, she lowers her head to the ground, but the brief glimpse was long enough for the both of them to finally realize something about each other's eyes.

They're the same.

5. After he uses up the first jar of salve that she gave him he shows up at the Hyuuga compound with a rueful grin and the empty container. Hinata faints after she opens the door and sees him.

It's déjà vu, but with the entire Hyuuga family instead of just Kiba. He has to admit that he prefers the Inuzuka. Hinata's sister is terrifying.

6. After he first found out about the Sandaime's death, he spent three days on alone on top of the Hokage Monument. She's the first one to approach him that he doesn't chase off with killing intent. He can't summon any against her.

She sits down next to him, closer than she'd ever been. He doesn't look at her, and she doesn't say anything, but he finds her presence surprisingly comforting.

When she stands up to go, so does he.

7. During his first night training with Jiraiya, he looks up at the night sky—the stars are the same as those in Konoha—and wonders what she's doing.

_Are you thinking about me?_

8. During his first night training with Jiraiya, she looks up at the night sky—the stars are the same as the ones where he is—and wonders what he's doing.

_Are you thinking about me?_

9. The first letter he ever receives is from her, wishing him a happy birthday. After he reads it, he closes his eyes and catches the faintest scent of lavender.

10. When he sees that familiar dark blue hair vanish behind a fence for the first time in over two years his heart beats just a little faster, and there's a weird feeling in his stomach that he can't give a name to. He immediately cuts off his conversation with Kiba and hurries over to where she is.

She's grown—in more ways than one, he can practically hear Jiraiya's voice comment from the back of his head—and her hair is longer, but he still recognizes her right away. Really, she hasn't changed at all.

In other words, she's fainted again.

11. For the first time, Naruto finds himself trying to figure out a way to ditch Yamato. It's not that he doesn't like the guy or anything like that, he'd just _really_ like some time alone with Hinata.

Jiraiya's rubbed off on him, he realizes with horror. He doesn't want to think of what Sakura will do when she finds out.

12. They're fighting side-by-side when he asks her out for the first time. He doesn't know why, it just slips out as he watches her duck beneath a kunai and send its wielder flying into a tree in a single graceful, fluid movement.

She's beautiful.

He wonders how he's missed something so obvious for so long, even as she answers him with tears of joy and a "YES!" without the faintest trace of a stammer.

13. Their first date ends with them in bed.

NOT. THAT. WAY.

They're at the hospital, being treated for food poisoning. He _knew_ that he should have taken her to Ichiraku's.

Next time, he does.

14. The first time he tells her that he loves her—more than air, more than ramen, more than anything else in the world—she doesn't say anything.

She's fainted. Again.

Not that he would have heard any answer she would have made, seeing as Kiba AND Hanabi AND the rest of Hinata's precious people had started chasing him. Even as he ran for his life, he wished that someone would tell him why his girlfriend was always falling unconscious.

15. She stands next to him, the first time that he's officially introduced as the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, wearing a smile. She's also wearing his ring, but it's nowhere near as bright or beautiful.

16. During their first wedding, Kiba spikes the ramen-flavored cake. He also spiked the ramen itself, the dango, the pocky, the Korean barbecue, and the tomatoes. Sasuke, Sakura, and Chouji are forbidden from going near alcohol EVER again. So are Anko and Lee, but that's old news.

During wedding number two, Kiba barely risks breathing under the watchful eyes of the bridesmaids. Sakura and Ino, he decides, are even scarier than his teacher. Shikamaru agrees, but Naruto's too busy kissing his bride to talk.

17. The triplets laugh as they try to drag their mother to her feet to get her to join in on their game, the first one that they've learned at the Academy. She smiles, and holds up a hand to stave them off for a moment. It doesn't work; they're as enthusiastic as their father

"Alright, alright." She acquiesces, and they cheer victoriously. "But only if you get your father to play as well." Their glee fades, and their faces fall. Minato, the eldest—and he never let's his younger-by-two-minutes-and-twelve-seconds-brothers forget it—pouts.

But he's always working!" He whines. "He never has time to play anymore!"

"Exactly." She replies. Her pale eyes gleam mischievously. "Just don't let Tsunade-baachan help this time, ne?"

The trio exchange blank looks, until it dawns on them, or rather on Minato and the prank-loving Haku. The youngest, Sarumaru, scratches his head in confusion as his sibling's drag him off.

18. She was the first Head of the Hyuuga Clan to remove the Caged Bird Seal from any member of the Branch House, and he was the first Hokage to classify it as a forbidden jutsu.

Neji cried that day as he hugged his and Tenten's bewildered two-year old son Hizashi. He would never wear the brand that his father and his grandfather once had, and neither would his children and grandchildren.

19. It's the triplet's first C-Rank mission, and Naruto hasn't stopped pacing the entire time that they've been gone: eleven hours, twenty-seven minutes, and fourteen—no, fifteen seconds. He can't focus on the growing pile of paperwork on his desk, he can't pay attention to the ANBU that he's supposed to debrief, and he can't even eat ramen without remembering.

He keeps seeing Sasuke lying immobile on the ground, Haku falling and not getting back up, and then the Haku of the past being replaced by the Haku that is his son, and what if—

A pair of warm arms are suddenly around him, and he breathes in her familiar, comforting scent. He raises his hands to hers, and they stand there for what could have been hours or a few fleeting moments. He doesn't want to let her go, so he'll hold her for as long as he can, and she'll hold him as well.

20. They watch the first sunrise of the New Year.

Together.

* * *

"Alright…" Shikamaru sighed. "This is so troublesome… review, alright?" 

After a few moment's, he glances at Sasuke. "Aren't you going to say something troublesome?"

"…"

"Oh, right, you're unconscious." He sighed again. "How troublesome…"


End file.
